Method of handling sheets and forming decorated caps



Jan. .12, 1954 E. A. WILCKENs METHOD OF HANDLING SHEETS AND FORMING DECORATED CAPS Original Filed May 4, 1945 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Jan. 12, 1954 E. A. wlLcKr-:Ns

METHOD OF HANDLING SHEETS AND FORMING DECORATED CAPS original Filea May 4. 1945 4 Sheets-Sheeiv 2 n mmJv 0.. @AIU O O. 0. n l] ll" 1 W Zclcgns, 1MM

Jan. 12, 1954 E, A. wlLcKENs 2,665,473

METHOD OF' HANDLING SHEETS AND FORMI-NG DECORATED CAPS Original Filed May 4, 1945 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Jan. 12, 1954 E. A. wlLcKENs 2,665,473

METHOD OF HANDLING SHEETS AND FORMING DECORATED CAPS Original Filed May 4. 1945 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 mmLlLlmuLuJ@ 144m mmmwwifm Patented Jan. 12, 1954 Mannen on HANDLING SHEETS ANI;

.EQRMiNQ pEcORATED CAPS' Eibe A. Wilclens,

Baltimore, Md., assig'nor to Grown Gor-k &` Seal Company, Inc., Baltimore,

Md., a. corporation of Ne Original. appliatiqn Mer 4.

591,9?5., new latent No; 11, 195o. Divided apa this ,isisoseiia'i Ne, 132,085

4, Qlainia (Cl. 237448:@

The present invention relates to apparatus and methods for handling sheets and, more particularly, for handling sheets during the performance of registered operations thereon. The application is a division of my application for Apparatus for Handling Sheets, Serial No. 591,975, led May 4, 1945, Patent No. 2,514,819, issued July 11 1950.

Bottle caps of the crown type ordinarily have a beverage identifying design or label lithographed thereon. Such caps are produced by V,lithographing a metal sheet with several vhundred of the cap designs arranged in rows and then passing the sheet through a cap forming press which punches out the designs and forms them into skirted caps. Naturally, it is necessary that the designs be centered upon the caps and this requires registration on the cap formingv press identical with that which was had on the lithographing press.

Under prior practice, registration of the lithoi graphed designs with the dies of the cap forming press depended primarily upon hailingY each sheet an exact rectangle of true dimensions. In order to meet these requirements, it was necessary to trim all four edges of the sheet, which resulted in a waste of metal. Furthermore, if the trimming te square the sheet failed in any respect, at least a number of the caps would `be imperfect.

A further vdiiiiculty arose from the .fact that after a sheet was initially registered in the cap forming press, it could shift its position while it was advanced beneath the dies.

object of the present invention is to provide a system for handling sheets, during operations performed by two apparatus and whereby the ehets will be held to the same registration on boil-i apparatus.

Another object of the invention is to provide a vsystepgi .for so handling sheets which are not true reetnneiles, not straight-edged, and not of enact dimension in one direction, that such sheets will be properly registered during two operations thereon- It is well-known that roll shears, i. e., shears which trim the edges of a moving strip, are highly accurate in form-ing properly spaced parallel side edges on a strip of metal. By prior cap forming processes ythe two parallel edges-,formed on a sheet by such shears were later trimmed oir during @eration intended to make .the sheet an exept rectangle, As a result of this practice, the twg parallel edges provided by the `roll shears, and also a strip of metal extending entirely around the sheet, were wasted. Furthermore, the square-trimming per-formed after roll shearw York 1345, Sill N9- 25l4,8179, daY d July 'application May 1,5,

.insnenessitated a. separate operation neon the sheet.

nnether obient of the present invention` is te provide a system whereby use is. made 9i the iw@ parallel, edges formed by the usual roll shear and the sraine of these edges is relie@ upon during ,handling of; the sneet- A further Object nf the invention ist@ nro-ride n System of handling a sheet during the f non .of ariieles. therefrom and. whereby minimum area, of material will be wasted- Another @bien of the invention is to gravide Sheets with guide means willen will noli! against Shifting lutins seriamente ,of 919er# ation on the sheet- A. further Object Qi the ini/entier! i0 inerente the inni ef prednetien .0f .can ivi-mins The irl-vennen described herein es @relied la the formation @f benl@ sans. nein metal-Sheen: c ived non.; the s desfriptic that in@ lnvennon is aplianle, te ills production nl nnniernns. inves. 0i articles. ir sheets nf various materials, .and particu y when, it iS necessary t0 ,register T0,1falignthe Slisli with one 0r more .Ineens nl nerfsnn an @Pennine thereon.

einer Chiens .and ndi/annees of in@ ini'sniipn will be apparent frein ille ,fellow-ing sneinsaiisn and accslnnenyins drawings whereinf Figure 11i@ a, new diagrininaiicallr illustrer: ing the prinnipal singes' iollswel the prier Sistem Qi handling, metal sheen during ille in@ dnction of bottle @eps- Figure 2 ,is n, view niasrelninaiisnlly illustrer ing nrininel stages. ibllnwd in the system ci the present inveniinn f0.1 handling metal during the mnnnfnni, ,e 9i art-inns s,

Fiebre 3 diagrammen ally in@ nel@ 9e @i annali lithesrarhed sheet .0i par blanks to ses Punching dies.

Figure .4 sliasramnintieally shell/S the rsleiisn .oi lancements ,Sheet te 'the @an .dies by ins @lanceurs Qi the. present invention# ,lne a elan, view si yined table .9i

lithograph press ille View .illustrating ille ,ler/el.'-

Figure 8 is a transverse sectional view on the line 8-8 of Figure '7.

Figure 9 is a fragmentary plan view showing a portion of a sheet provided with the guiding element of the present invention.

Figure l is a sectional view on line l-i of Figure 9, and

Figure ll is a fragmentary perspective View of a sheet provided with a guiding element of the present invention.

Referring to Figure 1, this figure diagrammatically illustrates the principal stages of the procedure heretofore used in forming the metal sheets, lithographing them and forming bottle caps therefrom. In stage A of Figure l, the refer- 4 out of contact with the sheets immediately after the sheet was gripped.

It will be observed that by the above action, the leading edge of the sheet, i e., one of the long edges E4 formed during the square-trimming of stage C was registered at the two points R1 designated by V-marks. The other point of regence character St designates a strip of-,rnetalV g Vfrom the lithograph press through a long drying which is moving to the right from a large roll, not shown. In some instances, this strip may have already received a background color or iinish. The strip St includes sides edges E' which are te original edges of the strip and are uneven. By the operation of stage A, the strip was trimmed by roll shears, not shown, to provide the parallel and properly spaced edges E".

In stage B of Figure 1, flying shears, not shown. cut the strip St cross-wise at longitudinally spaced points to form sheets S including the long edges E2 formed by the fly shears. Because of the inaccuracies arising in the cutting of a rapidly moving stripV by ily shears, the edges E2 were not always parallel, properly spaced, or at right angles to the parallel edges E". For that reason, the four-side square trimming indicated in stage C was performed to remove the material shown outside of the solid lines in stage C. This was intended to make the sheet a rectangle and provide it with short edges E3 and long edges E4. About 1&5 of material had to be removed from each edge of a sheet S of the dimensions shown in stage B, resulting in a total loss and waste of about eighteen square inches of material, or over three per cent of the total sheet S of stage B. In addition, it wasted the perfectly parallel side edges E" provided by the roll shears in stage A. The squared sheet is designated S' in stage C.

Stage DA of Figure 1 indicates how the rectangular sheet S' was registered in a lithograph press by the prior practice. As is diagrammatically indicated in stage D, the sheet S was initially placed upon and moved across the feed table of the press in the direction of the central arrow by conveyor chains, not shown. Its trailing edge E4 was then engaged by spring-loaded pushing elements P acting on the trailing edge at the points indicated by the arrows. However, immediately after the pushers P engaged the sheet, side gauging elements RG and SG moved in toward its side edges E3. Gauge RG assumed a rigid position, but the gauge SG was springloaded when adjacent the sheet and urged the sheet against RG while the sheet was moved. to the right in stage D bv the pushers P and toward the gripper stops GS carried on the impression roll of the press. The purpose of this combined action by the pushers P and springloaded side gauge SG was to place the leading edge E4 firmly against all of the gripper stops GS and also properly positioned the sheet axially of the press roll, viz., against `rigid side gauge RG. The grippers associated with the gripper stops GS then closed to grip the sheet and pull it through the press rolls to be lithographed on its top face. The side gauges RG and SG moved istration, i. e., by the rigid side gauge RG, is indicated by the V-mark R2 on one short edge E3. After the grippers engaged the sheet and it was also engaged by the impression roll and blanket roll of the press, it could not shift. Therefore, the rows of cap designs placed on the sheet S by the lithograph press were in registration with the points R1 and R2.

After the sheet was lithographed, it was moved or baking oven including a conveyor on which the sheets stood on one long edge E4 and were kept separated from each other. The sheets moved with the conveyor inthe drying oven for a period of about ten minutesv and were then individually removed by an attendant who stacked the sheets face upward. The attendant took each sheet from the drying oven in such a manner that they were all oriented in the same manner onthe stack. Each sheet would havea mark such as M lithographed thereon (but at a point clear of the cap designs) to indicate which edges of the sheet were registered at the points vR1 and R2. If the design to be applied required an additional lithographing step the 'mark M indicated the direction in which the sheets should be moved during that operation.

When all lithographing and drying or baking was completed, the sheets were then stacked with their lithographed faces downward and the stack of sheets was moved to a cap 'forming' press.

Stage E of Figure l illustrates thev prior handling of a sheet S in the cap forming press, and in which press it was moved in the direc-` tion of the central arrow, i. e., to the right in Figure l. It will be noted that one of its shorter edges E3 thereby became the leading edge of the sheet.

In the cap forming press operation, the stack of lithographed sheets had the top sheet removed therefrom and positioned in the lower portion of an upwardly inclined feed table such as generally indicated in Figure 6, and with the lithographed side of the sheet S turned down. As a result, one of the shorter edges E3, comprising the trailing edge, rested against fixed stops designed FS in stage E. Although stage E illustrates in dotted lines the registry points R1 and R2 established on the sheet in the lithographing press, it will be clear from the following that these points had no significance whatever during registration in the punch press and that the sheet could be swung laterally from the position illustrated.

The cap forming press feed table included two upstanding side walls designated SW which were spaced apart by a distance corresponding to the dimension which sheet S' was supposed to have between edges E4, plus clearance. The walls SW terminated immediately beyond the lines of punch dies indicated by the dot-dash lines PD in stage E of Figure l. As a result of the above structure, when a sheet S' was placed on the cap forming press feed table, its long edges E4 contacted with the side walls -SW and its trailing short edge E3 contacted with the xed stops FS. A conveyor chain then moved the sheet upwardly; or to the richt in stage E; untiljits lower .edge was engaged by feed dogs, which moved it step by step beneath the punch dies at PD. The registration wasv by theside walls SW and the feed dogs. Obviously, if the trimming of stage C which established the spacing between edges E1 was inaccurate, a sheet S' could be so narrow that it would move laterally. The registration of the cap forming dies with the cap designs would thereby be inaccurate. Alter natively, if the sheet was. slightly oversized, it would buckle or even become jammed between the side walls SW. A. still further difficulty could arise if the side edges E4 were not parallel, and particularly if the trailing portion of the sheet was thereby of less dimension between these side edges than was the case with the leading portion. In such a, case, if the. leading portion tted exactly between the side walls .SW so thatvthe. des signs on that portion of the sheet were properly registered with the cap forming dies, nevertheless, after the leading portion moved past. the upper ends of the Walls SW, the trailing portion could shift so that poor registration occurred.

summarizing the above-stated disadvantages of the prior system illustrated in Figure l, it will be observed that by that systemyregistration in the cap forming press of stage E primarily relied upon having the sheets of exact dimensions and true rectangularity. This was a different type of registration from that used during the lithographing (stage D) wherein registration actually was solely dependent on having only two edges substantially at a right angle to each other, with no reliance upon the exact dimensions of those edges or the other edges. tain properregistration during the cap kforming operation, it was necessary that the trimming be accuratevas to dimension and that all edges be square, which wasted metal and required the special operation of stage C. Finally, it was pos-.- sible for the sheet to shift during the cap forming operation.

Still another disadvantage of the prior system is evident from Figure 3. Figure 3 is primarily an enlargement of stage E of Figure 1 but, in addition, shows the layout of the cap designs applied to the sheet S during stage D of Figure 1 and also the layoutarrangement of the cap forming dies PD. Because these designs are on the lower face. they are shown in dotted lines,

Referring to Figure 3, it will be observed that sheets has applied thereto a row C1 of cap de.- signs immediately adjacent the leading narrow edge E3. The next row C2 has its designs staggered with respect to those of row C1 and the designs of the two rows are also nested in that opposed portions of the cap design perimeters are extremely close to each other. For example, on a sheet of caps used on the usual soft-drink or beer bottle, which caps have .their tops ,of a diameter of 26 millimeters, .or approxi-y mately one inch, the design, on the sheet S (in cluding the portion to be formed into a skirt) Was one-and-a-half inches in diameter. However, adjacent designs' were only about one-haii' a millimeter apart. The designs in row C1 were positioned equally as close to the edge E3 of the sheet and the design in row C1 adjacent edge E1 was less than .1 from that edge. A third row C3 had its designs directly behind those of row C1 and nested with respect to those of row C2. A fourth row C41 had its designs in alignment with `those of row C?, Rows C5 and C6, with designe refspectively behind those of rows Cl and C2, are also illustrated.

Also, in order to ob- Y .'Qbviously, the rows of designs 'were ltoo close together to enable closely adjacent rows. to be stamped on the sance stroke of the launches.. For examplapunch and die elements oould'not be positioned as closely together as. the designs. This isclear ,from the rightehand portion of Else ure 3Q wherein row D11 of the punches PD is shown spaced from. row D2 a distance corresponding to the spacing between have@1 and C6 ci .the de signs on sheet S'. However. both. rows of punches reciprocated together on any stroke of the presse The sheet S' was. moved up the feed .table by a conveyor chain until its trailing edge was engaged by a feed dog mechanism which so positioned the sheet that the design row C2 was beneath the row 13.2 of. cap forming punches. The punches were then reciprocaA d so that punch row D@ stamped caps from design row 'll ac 0h is indicated by the dot-audfdash line circles w the designs of row Simultaneously. punches of. row D11 descended in. the pat-hs indi= cated by the doteandfdash circles D11. Then the sheet advanced to brins rdesign .row C1 beneath punch row D2. The designs of this row, contain: ing cross-,marks in the drawing,4 were then punched out, While the row D11 of punches de scended in the paths indicated by the dot-and-l dash circles D11". It will be observed from the circles D11" that on this stroke the punches D11 descended extremely close to the leadingedge ,E1 of sheet S. Obviously, if the length of sheetii between its edges E? was Very Slightly oversize, the punches D11 would cute sliver from the lead ing edge E3. Such. a sliver would remain inthe die and cause the-next cap formed bythe die to be ruined. Furthermore, it; meant that all of the designs on the sheet would be slightly out .oi registration.

1f. the sheet was too short, the caps formed from leading row C1 would have a portion missing from the leading sides .of ytheir skirts and all of the designs would .also be out of registration.

The feed dogs then moved the sheet forward for a distance corresponding to the distance beE tween the centers of rows C1 and C3 and the third stroke of fthe punches punched out the designs 'ih .rovi/ S C-1 and C6. Succeeding Inove--` ments of the sheet were 0f a distance corresponde ing to the space betweenthe centers of. rows G1 and C3 so that the third and eight, and then the fifth and tenth rows were punched.v With .thirty- Six vrows to a sheet, the-thirty-sixth ,row `had its designs `in alignment with those of row Qn the next to the last, or nineteenth stroke, punch row D11 would punch the. thirtyffthird design row While punch row D2 came down be yond the sheet. leaving only :the thirty-@ith row to be punched.. For :the :nal punch stroke. the feeddogs moved the sheet iorward a distance corresponding .to the distance between rows r1 and C?, and punch vrow D11 punched the thirlzye fifth design row.

summarizing .the above, if the sheet was either too .long or too short, .difculties resulted which were of .even more practical importance than the rlack .of registration discussed above. Therefore, the square-trimming ofv stage C .,(Figure l) which established the distance between the edges E3 was regarded as `extremely critical.

Figure 2 diagrammatically ilk-:strates the steps followed by the procedure of the ypresent ihrention. figureseto .1l illustrate :these steps in more detail andy also te apparatus.' Referring to the first .step

ila... 0f the invention procedure, shown at the left of Figure- 2 `and `desigei nated stage A1, a strip St' moving from a roll, not shown, of the metal, is trimmed by roll shears to parallel and accurately spaced edges I and I I. The strip is then cut cross-Wise by fly shears as indicated in stage B1 to form the sheet designated by the numeral I2. Sheet I2 includes the long edges I0 and II formed by the roll shear and the short edges formed by the ily shear and designated I3 and I4, respectively. It will be 'observed that the edges I0 and II are the edges formed by the roll shear in stage A1. In some instances, the strip St may have a background color applied thereto.

The sheets I2 are stacked and then, without any further trimming or squaring such as followed at stage C in the Figure 1 prior practice, are successively delivered to the feed table I5 of a lithograph press generally indicated by the numeral 16 in Figure 5. Stage D1 of Figure 2 also indicates this positioning of the sheet. Although stage D1 and Figure 5 show the sheet I2 oriented to have its long edge I0 trailing, the other long edge II could be the trailing edge during this stage.

It will be noted that the sheet I2 illustrated as used in the present invention is larger than that used with the prior system. The reasons for this are hereinafter explained.

Referring to Figure 5 and also to stage D1 of Figure 2, the sheet I2 is moved to the right as shown by the central arrows in both figures by dog chains, not shown, and until its trailing edge I0 is engaged by spring loaded pushers I1 diagrammatically illustrated in both figures.

While sheet I2 is being moved to the right in Figure 5 and stage D1, a side gauging device such as the driven roller 20 included in a gauging mechanism 2I is moved toward the edge I4 of sheet I2 and then becomes rigid in the position illustrated. At the same time, a gauge such as roller 22 moves in against the opposite side edge I3 of the sheet. Roller 22 is spring-loaded and thereby urges the sheet againstthe new rigid roll gauge 20.

Immediately before the gauges 20 and 22 have moved irrward'ly as described above, the springloaded pushers I1 will engage the trailing edge I0 of the sheet to move its leading edge II into contact with the gripper stops I8 mounted on impression roll I9 and associated with the usual sheet grippers.

The result of the above action will be that the leading edge II will be moved into contact with all the gripper stops and its side edge I4 will be positioned at a predetermined point axially of the press couple. In other words, the sheet will be registered at the points I8' and 20 indicated by the V-marks on stage D1 of Figure 2. The side gauges 20 and 22 will move away from and out of contact with the sheet immediately after the sheet is gripped by the gripper stops I8. These gauges can be in contact with the sheet for some distance along its edges but the final gauging takes place at the instant the grippers close. Therefore, the side gauging takes place at a very definite point on the edge of the sheet. If the sheet is out of square, it may have a slight sidewise movement as it advances and until the grippers close. The instant the grippers close, the side gauges retreat.

The side gauges described above are similar to those disclosed in the application of Eibe A. Wilckens and Ellis M. Magill for Sheet Feeding and Gauging Mechanisms. Serial No. 471,168, led January 2, 1943, Patent No. 2,396,481,

issued March 12, 1946. However, any suitable side-gauging mechanism having the action described above may be used.

After the sheet I2 is gripped by the grippers associated with the gripper stops, it will be drawn through the press couple and lithographed on the fface shown uppermost in stage D1 and Figure 5. A register mark such as M will be applied to the top and lithographed face of each sheet by the transfer roll to indicate which edges were registered in the lithograph press. This mark will, of course, be at a point clear of the designs and is shown greatly enlarged.

It will be observed that the register and gauging mechanisms described above in connection with Figure 5 and stage D1 of Figure 2 are substantially identical with those used and followed in the prior system described in connection with stage D of Figure l.

After the sheets have been lithographed, they move through a drying or baking oven while standing on one edge and in the same manner as has been described above in connection with the prior practice of Figure l. When drying or baking has been completed, the sheets are piled in a, stack, all oriented in the same direction and with their lithographed faces turned up, in accordance with the usual practice. If further lithographing is required, it is carried out as has been described in connection with Figure 5 and stage D1 oi Figure 2 and the drying and subsequent stacking repeated. After iinal lithographing, the sheets are stacked with the lithographed side down.

Stage E1 of Figure 2 and also Figure 4 illustrates the manner in which the sheets are handled in the cap forming press by the apparatus of the present invention. Figures 6 to 8 illustrate the construction of the cap forming press. Referring to the views mentioned, the stack of lithographed sheets is placed on the sheet feeder, not shown, of the punch press wtih their lithographed faces down and the registered edges II (marked M) to the left as viewed in stage E1 and Figures 4 and 6. The top sheet is then delivered to the inclined feed table 25 of the punch press. Because of the manner in which the stack is oriented, this will cause the registered edge II to be lowermost or to the left as viewed in all these iigures. In other words, the new orientation of the sheet shown in stage E1 of Figure 2 may be compared with that in stage D1 by stating that to reach the stage E1 position, the sheet of stage D1 will be turned over, with its edge II serving as the pivot, and so that its lithographed face will be lowermost in stage E1. This change of position is apparent from a comparison of the position of the mark M in stage D1 with the mark M of stage E1. 'l

The lower edge 26 of the feed table 25 is provided With rigid stops 21 with which the register points I8 will contact. In addition, feed table 25 is equipped with side gauging mechanisms including rollers 29a and 22a. The roller 20a is identical in action with the roller Z of the lithograph press IS and the roller 22av is identical with the roller 22 of the lithograph press. After the sheet is dropped on the inclined table 25, its registered edge I I will, by gravity, slide into iirm contact with the rigid stops 21. Then the roller 20a will move inwardly and laterally to a rigid position and roller 22a will move in under spring loading to contact with the opposite edge, thereby urging edge I4 of the sheet against the momentarily rigid roll 2da. It

will be `noted that roll c will contact with' the edge I 4 at the register point 23' established in the lithograph press. Because the other registered edge, II is registered against the stops 2l, the sheet is now registered at the same points at which it was registered in the lithograph press. .5A die 3i! including upper and lower coop-erating die elements generally illustrated .in Figure 7 is mountedat the lower edge of the feed tableZB. As soon as the spring-loaded side gauge 22a has urged the sheet I2 to the position illustratedn Figure 6., for example, this punch mechanism will be actuated in timed relation to the opera tion of the side gauges so as to provide `a guiding means such as element 3l (Figures 9 :to l1) in the sheet I2, preferablyadjacent its registered edge I I. The .guide tab or element 3l is in the form of a strap bent downwardly from the sheet andpreferably of V-shaped form as viewed from one side to include legs 32 having opposite ,side edges 33. The side ledges 33 lie in planes which are normal to a line passing through the register points. i8. .In addition, the planes in which the edges 33 lie are at predetermined and fixed distances, respectively, from the registry points 2B on the edge I4.

` Immediately aft-er the punch '33 has formed the guide element 3l, its punch elements move clear of then-sheet. rThis entire punching action will occur immediately vbefore the side gauges retract `or immediately after they have retracted. In any event, a flight 34cm each of the two usual conveyor Ichains 35 cf the cap forming press will new move intocOnta-ct with the vlower edge -I-I of the sheet as shown in Figure 6 to move the sheet up the feed table 25. The feed table is provided with a groove in which the guide element 3l will move. The side walls of groove 3S are properly spaced to prevent the guide element 3| from moving or twisting laterally therein. In accordance with the usual practice, after chain 35 has moved the sheet upwardly a predetermined distance, the lower edge of the sheet will be engaged by feed dogs such as indicated at 38 and these dogs will move the sheet step by step beneath the punches 39 and over the cooperating dies in the same manner as followed in prior practice and described above in connection with Figure 3. Hold-down members 4E! may move downwardly upon the side edges of the sheet as illustrated in l'fiigures 6 and 7 and in the usual manner to prevent the sheet from buckling along a line cross-wise of the feed table as it is pushed upwardly. However, these members will not exert sufficient pressure to cause the sheet to be deviated from the straight line path imparted to it by the engagement of the side edges 33 of guide element 3i with the side walls of the groove 36. The side edges I3 and I4 need not be engaged by any guide means after guide element 3| has been formed.

The guide element 3l which is illustrated is readily formed by a die which makes two straight and parallel cuts and then presses the intermediate portion to a V-shape. It can be formed in between two cap designs of the row of designs nearest the registered edge I l as shown in Figure 4. As shown in Figure fl, the lay-out of the cap designs on a sheet is such that the row of designs nearest an edge II or It is spaced a sufficient distance apart to provide adequate space between two adjacent designs for a tab of adequate width. Furthermore, the designs of the next row parallel to edge I I, although partially nested between those of the outer row as described in connection 251% by32a'ls.

acteristcs required by the present apparatus and apart.

l@ with Figure k3, are far enough from the edge I0 or Il of the sheet to permit the guide element 3| to be of adequate length. The guiding element 3| included in the present invention is highly eflcient because, with .a minimum area, it provides optimum straight edge surfaces and sumcient depth to prevent the element 3i from rising entirely out of engagement with groove 36. In practice, a sheet approximately 25de" by 32%" requires a guide element having a width of approximately 1A" and a length less than one inch, with its greatest depth approximately 1A. Placing the guiding means 3l adjacent regis-l tered edge li further prevents any deviation from the registration established `in the'lithograph press. Y It will be perceived from the above that by the present invention, sheets will be registered in the cap forming press at the same points at which they were registered in the lthographing press. Therefore, it is not necessary that the sheet -i-nclude perfectly straight and parallel side edges I 3 and I4, or even that the two registered edges II and I1! -be exactly at right angles to each other. Slight deviations in both these present so long as the sheet contains an areal having the minimum dimensions necessary to produce the set number of caps for its size, i. e., in 'the lpresent i instance, an area measuring In short, fthe cnlyjexact 4charprocess are that the edges AII) and YIl which are the leading and trailing Ledges-'in the -cap forming press, .be parallel andexactly the proper distance As has been stated above, roll shearing such as performed in stage A1 is entirely efficient to provide such characteristics. that one aspect of the invention is the use of the roll-shear-formed edges as the leading and trailing edges in the lithographing and cap forming stages, thereby making it feasible to leave the fly-shear formed edges on the sheet to serve as side edges. As has been stated above, the use of the same registration system in both the lithographing and cap forming presses requires less perfection in these edges.

Figure 4 diagrammatically shows the lay-out of designs on the sheet I2 and the layout of the dies 39. The steps by which the sheet is moved beneath the punches and over the dies are the same .as have been explained in connection with the prior practice system of Figure 3. In addition, the rows of cap designs are arranged in the same spacing as on the prior sheet S of Figure 3, except that the rows of designs 40, 4I, 42, 43, etc., extend parallel to the wide edges Il) and II of the sheet I2. Obviously, the invention could be used upon sheets having shorter edges I0 and II but, for increased production and operating eiciency, it is desirable to use as large sheets and as many dies as possible. With the present invention, use of larger sheets than have heretofore been used becomes possible, because (l) the roll-shear will uniformly produce parallel edges I0 and II, (2) the system of registration enables such sheets to be accurately registered in both presses, and (3) the guiding element prevents the sheet from twisting or deviating from a straight path during cap punching.

Also, the fact that the procedure of the present invention enables a sheet to be moved through the cap forming press in the same manner in which it is moved through the lithograph press, i. e., with a wide edge cross-wise, makes registration more accurate. As shown in Figure 4,

factor-s may be- It will be noted.

the cap forming press used with the sheet I2 may have two rows of dies, with twelve dies in each row, thereby forming twenty-four caps on each stroke of the press. The cap forming presses used with the prior sheet S' included two rows of only eight dies each.

Although the invention has been described as applied to cap forming, it will be apparent that it is applicable to numerous types of apparatus wherein operations requiring registration are performed upon sheets of various materials.

It will also be noted that numerous phases of the invention are applicable in operations wherein no designs are applied to articles.

vThe apparatus of Figures 6 and 7 is claimed in said parent application Serial No. 591,975.

-The terminology used in the specification is for the purpose of description and not of limitation, the scope of the invention being indicated in the claims.

I claim:

1. The method of forming articles fromv a sheet. comprising providing two parallel edges on the sheet by roll-shearing, providing two additional edges substantially normal to said parellel edges, without additional trimming of the sheet registering one of said parallel edges and a point on one of said additional edges with respect to the feed mechanism of a design producing apparatus, feeding the sheet perpendicularly to the registered edge while performing the design producing operation of said apparatus, turning the sheet over and in that position again registering the same edge and point with respect to the feed 12 mechanism of apparatus Ior performing another design producing operation requiring predetermined orientation with the design produced by the iirst operation, feeding the sheet perpendicularly to the registered edge and performing the second operation in said required orientation.

2. A method of the character described in claim 1 wherein the last-mentioned design-producing operation is a punching operation.

3. A method of the character described in claim 1 including the step of providing a guiding element on the sheet during registration of the sheet with the last-mentioned feeding mechanism. h

4. A method of the character described in claim 1 wherein said registered edge is the leading edge during the feeding movement of one of said operations and is the trailing edge during the feeding movement of the other of said operations.

EIBE A. WILCKENS.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,037,844 Adriance et al. Sept. 10, 1912 1,773,493 Griffiths Oct. 14, 1930 1,949,581 Carter Dec. 19, 1933 2,119,662 Williams June 7, 1938 2,396,481 Wilckens et al Mar. 12, 1946 2,400,927 Harrold May 28, 1946 2,406,847 Neuhart Sept. 3, 1946 2,514,819 Wilckens July 11, 1950 

